'Survivor' begins 25th season tonight with former Dodger Jeff Kent

HOLLYWOOD - The 25th season of "Survivor" begins at 8 p.m. tonight with a 90-minute episode on CBS with former Los Angeles Dodgers second baseman Jeff Kent and Lisa Whelchel, who played Blair on the 1979-88 NBC comedy "The Facts of Life," among the 18 castaways.

"I like Jeff just as a competitor," host and executive producer Jeff Probst said. "He's a guy we would put on the show regardless whether he had a major league career or not. He's that tough farmer-type that will get out there and get it done and I think he likes the strategy of the game.".

"Survivor: Philippines" will be Kent's second time on a competition series. He teamed with actress Ali Landry for a fifth-place finish on ABC's "The Superstars" in 2009.

"I don't want to embarrass myself," said Kent, who retired following the 2008 season, ending a 17-season major league career, the last four spent with the Dodgers. He was named as the National League's Most Valuable Player in 2000 when he played with the San Francisco Giants.

Kent said the cast includes "some mean-looking ones," along with "some feisty-looking ones," and "some people that look educated and people not."

Whelchel described herself as a fan of the series who "had a friend of mine make a little iPhone video and put it on my Twitter account and ask people to retweet and start a viral campaign to get me on the show." To Probst, "Lisa is somebody that I think a lot of people are going to root for." Her success on the show will depend on whether she can enter into an alliance "with someone she can move forward with," Probst said. "If you make a mistake and you align with the wrong person, you're dead," Probst said. "You can't recover."

The castaways include three who were medically evacuated in past seasons.

Michael Skupin suffered severe burns when he inhaled a thick cloud of smoke, passed out and fell forward into the fire on "Survivor: The Australian Outback," the show's second season, which aired in 2001.

Probst called it "the most iconic medical evacuation of any reality show I think that's ever been on TV."

"There was skin dripping off his fingers as he was evacuated out to a hospital," Probst said. "That's when everybody knew `Survivor' was real."

Russell Swan "nearly died in front of me" on "Survivor: Samoa" in 2009, Probst said, as he suffered from dehydration and fainted multiple times during a challenge.

"I'll never forget that moment," Probst said. "It was the hardest time I'd ever had on the show. To see him recover, get the blessing from his wife to come back out here to do it again is very inspiring to me."

Jonathan Penner is a 50-year-old writer from Los Angeles who finished seventh on "Survivor: Cook Islands" in 2006, then returned for "Survivor: Micronesia -- Fans vs. Favorites," which aired in 2008 and was medically evacuated due to a knee infection.

"Penner is one of my all-time favorite Survivors," Probst said. "He'd be on my top 10 list for sure. I like how he plays the game. I like how aggressive he is. I like how he pushes the rules. I like how he lips off to me."

There are two other Los Angeles-area residents among the castaways. Malcolm Freberg is a 25-year-old bartender from Hermosa Beach Probst called "your prototype for `Survivor."'

"He's young, good looking, looks like he's from the jungle," Probst said. "I think women will like him. Guys will want to hang out with him."

Abi-Maria Gomes is a 32-year-old business student from Los Angeles, who described herself as charming.

"Abi-Maria is going to be her own worst enemy," Probst said. "I would expect her to be around for a while. I'd be sad if she wasn't. She's got a nice spark."

For the first time in eight years, the contestants will be divided among three tribes.